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    CHAPTER 5

    SUMMARY

    1. INTRODUCTION

    The research focused on consumers attitude and consumers behavior in

    relation to environmental problems. It started with the assumption that

    environmental problems were closely related to individual consumer attitude,

    and that individual consumer behavior was one of the major causes for the

    existing environmental problems. Several studies argued that current

    consumption practices and consumer behavior cannot be called sustainable.

    If substantial changes are not made to the same, such consumption pattern will

    definitely lead to disastrous situation in the long term. In India also, such

    prevailing consumption practices are posing a serious threat to the environment

    and to society as a whole.

    Consumers in developed countries in general, are more aware of ecological

    issues and they show greater environmental concern as they are already paying

    a heavy toll on account of environmental degradation that has occurred during

    the seventies and eighties due to rapid industrialization and development of

    their economies. As a reaction to this general societal problem, developed

    countries started giving importance to corporate social responsibility (CSR). A

    large number of environmental organizations have mushroomed in these

    countries to champion the cause of environmentalism.

    In case of developing countries the scenario was absolutely different, there

    people were neither aware nor were willing to know about damage being done

    to the environment by human beings and the repercussions which their

    successor will have to bear. There was also a dearth of research and literature

    in less effluent societies. Such great need of research in the area and urgency of

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    spreading awareness about the environmental dreadful conditions inspired the

    researcher to carry out a research in the area.

    In India the concept of CSR was progressively picking up and had changed the

    role of marketing at large: In the social marketing concept, the long-term

    interests of the consumer and social welfare had taken a mainstream while

    profit making was expressed as a long-term objective. One of such CSR steps

    adopted by the corporate to show their green footprint was green marketing.

    There was a wide contradiction among marketing experts about the gap

    between attitude and behavior of the consumers regarding green consumption;

    the other group of experts was of opinion that while consumers were

    increasingly demanding environmental protection, their behavior did not really

    reflected this attitude: they were not aware of the damage being done to the

    environment out of their activities. Moreover people were not knowledgeable

    of green alternatives (and even if they were knowledgeable, they did not

    consider these green alternatives available and feasible); Many people thought

    that environmental protection was not their responsibility rather they fancy

    action should be taken not by them but by other institutional actors, mainly the

    state government and corporate.

    Therefore, the purpose of the dissertation was set to examine the possibilities

    for environment friendly marketing within the current economic system

    through a better understanding of environment friendly consumer behavior.

    The basic objective was to obtain pragmatic findings which can be utilized by

    the marketers who have a green motto in their doings. The research, so in

    addition to taking into account the complexity of environment friendly

    behavior, also put stress on environmentally aware purchase decisions, and the

    perceived barriers in the way of adopting green lifestyle.

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    2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY WERE:

    1. To assess the awareness of consumers regarding environmental problems

    2. To analyze the attitude and behavior of Indian consumers towards green

    products

    3. To identify obstacles that respondents perceive to come in the way of adopting

    green lifestyle

    4. To segment consumers in Pune according to their green lifestyle into five

    consumer segments:

    a) belonging to highly green group (True Blue Greens)

    b) belonging to moderately high green group (Green Backs)

    c) belonging to medium green group (Sprouts)

    d) belonging to low green group (Grousers)

    e) belonging to non green group (Basic Browns)

    For the purpose of the study green consumer was defined as:

    Who is mindful of environment related issues and obligations, and is

    supportive of environmental causes to the extent of switching allegiance from

    one product or supplier to another even if it entails higher cost.

    The wider interpretation ascertains the complexity of the behavior in a more

    authentic way and calculates with trade-offs between the individual attitude

    and behavior dimensions, while the narrower approach can identify more

    efficiently those factors that are hidden in the background of a given activity.

    The relationship between consumer attitude and behavior for eco friendly

    product features in a given purchasing situation. Through testing the

    hypotheses the researcher was able to identify what demographic features had

    impact on the purchase behavior of the consumers and validity of its worth,

    trying to influence the consumer in order to develop a market for green

    products. The objectives were to find out the perceived barriers to come in the

    way of adopting green lifestyle, the relationship of attitude towards

    environment and behavior, and to segment Pune population according to their

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    green concerns. The researcher has applied an approach that was not new in

    research of environment friendly consumer behavior. To find out the existence

    of relationship between eco friendly attitude and behavior Chi Square test was

    employed, the research not only considered the issue based on the consumers

    opinion and attitude, but also investigated the behavior in a concrete

    purchasing situation.

    Findings of the study in regard to environmental awareness and knowledge

    appeared somewhat in contrast to those found in the context of consumers in

    developed countries. But there exist discrepancies in environmental behavior

    (recycling), knowledge, and attitudes as well as more general attitudes and

    personality traits even among the developed counties reported Sammer136

    (2006), she Matched samples of French (N = 56) and American (N = 112)

    adults and found that Americans environmental attitudes were more pro-

    ecological.

    3. HYPOTHESIS TESTING

    Demographic analysis

    To develop an in-depth idea about the demographic characteristics of the

    respondents and to find out the relationship of demographic characteristics and

    their respective eco concerns one way ANOVA test was employed. The results

    were in confirmation with the hypothesis1 Environmental concern varies with

    age and income of respondents"

    Demographics of an individual were found to have an impact on ones

    environmental concern. Thus the first hypothesis which says that there is no

    linkage existing between demographic variables and the environmental

    concern was checked with the help of one way ANOVA where demographic

    variables where taken as an independent variable and examined its relationship

    with the depended variables (Knowledge, Attitude, behavior and lifestyle).

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    The finding showed that the calculated value of F was higher, which was more

    than the table value at 5% level with d.f. being v1=3 and v2=16 and hence

    could have arisen because of difference in the sample mean and not because of

    chance. This analysis accepted the 1st hypothesis which states that

    Environmental concern varies with age and income of respondents". It is

    therefore concluded that the difference in opinion about different variables

    (Attitude, behavior and lifestyle etc.) is significant and is because of difference

    in demographic variables.

    Demographic information relating to the sample found significant differences

    between the groups, as can be seen from the analysis. The major differences

    between attitude and behavior types appeared to focus around a definitive split

    between non- environmentalists and other groups. With the age, there were

    notable changes from the committed to occasional green purchasers, with

    higher frequencies in the younger groups. Briefly, the demographic profile of

    the different groupings can be summarized as:

    As far as knowledge was concerned, the age of committed environmentalists

    was at the lower side, with the age of non-environmentalist the highest; or in

    other words the aged people possess lesser knowledge about the environment

    as compared to other groups where as it is highest for the younger most

    generation. Whereas the youngest of all had highly positive attitude and the

    middle aged have lowest level of attitude towards the environment. The oldest

    of all showed very good purchase behavior and the middle aged ie between 39-

    49 showed a very negative purchase behavior. Same was the case with

    conservation behavior, the oldest people in the sample were good at conserving

    environment whereas the middle aged people with 39-49 years of age showed a

    negative sign in conserving the environment. The barriers towards adaptation

    of green lifestyle were the highest for the age group of 29-39 years and it was

    lowest for the oldest population as per percentage analysis.

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    The lowest income group had great information and the middle income group

    had least information about the environmental degradation. But they failed to

    show positive attitude towards the environment. The Higher middle income

    class had the most positive attitude and showed their attitude in purchase

    behavior as well. The lowest income group failed to buy green products. As far

    as conservation behavior was concern the higher middle class had taken a lead

    and the lowest income group was the lowest conservator. The barriers were

    high for the lower middle class whereas the lowest class sees the barrier to be

    not very high.

    Evidently there were more trends that could have been described from the data,

    but for the purposes of brevity it is kept limited. It is very interesting to note

    that those most committed to sustainable consumption were young, males

    belonging to the business class of the society and are not financially very well

    off.

    These assertions were clearly generalizations. However, they were based on

    discernible statistical patterns. What must be noted was that there were no clear

    distinctions that can be drawn along a continuum, from committed to non-

    environmentalist. There were variable demographic characteristics depending

    on which cluster was examined. Nonetheless, there were clear trends that have

    significant implications for policy makers.

    To check the second hypothesis which states that, There is no relationship

    between consumers attitude and purchase behavior of green products? A Chi

    Square test was performed on the data where questions on green attitude

    (Column) were tested with all purchase behavior questions (Rows), The table

    value of 2

    for nine degrees of freedom at 5% level of significance was 16.9.

    The calculated value of 2 in each case was much higher than the table value

    which meant that the calculated value cannot be said to have arisen just

    because of chance. It was significant. Hence, the hypothesis does not hold

    good. This means that the attitude of consumers does replicate in its purchase

    behavior. Hypothesis 2 accepted.

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    There were cases when, while purchasing, people hesitate to buy green because

    of expensive nature of green products, but they try to conserve ecology for

    various other reasons like, to save money or to take care of their own health.

    When there existed no significant association between attitude and purchase

    behavior, it was reasonable to examine whether the attitude had any impact of

    conservation behavior or not.

    To check third hypothesis which states that, There is no relationship between

    consumers attitude and conservation behavior, the study found out the

    association of attitude with conservation behavior. Chi Square test was

    performed on the data where attitude questions (Column) where tested with all

    conservation behavior questions (Rows) The table value of 2

    for nine degrees

    of freedom at 5% level of significance is 16.9. The calculated value of 2

    in

    each case was found to be much higher than the table value which means that

    the calculated value cannot be said to have arisen just because of chance. It was

    significant, hence, the hypothesis does not hold good. This means that the

    attitude portrayed by the respondents does not relate with the conservation

    behavior. Hypothesis 3 accepted.

    Both conservation behavior and purchase behavior of the consumers were not

    related to the attitude hence it can be concluded that behavior was independent

    of attitude.

    Pune consumers have shown inconsistency in their attitude and behaviors

    many of them were having positive attitude but failed to replicate it by green

    purchasing, whereas some have the vice versa situation. Many people had good

    knowledge score but when it came to show it through purchasing or

    conservation of the ecology they failed.

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    4. SEGMENTATION OF RESPONDENTS INTO 5 SEGMENTS AS

    PER ROPERS73

    MODEL

    To identify environmentally conscious behavior, the respondents needed to be

    segmented on the basis of their behavior, which in turn was based on whether

    or not they had environmentally conscious views. For these, clusters of

    environmental aware and environmental non aware respondents were

    created, with the help of the percentage analysis. For this purpose, Ropers

    Green Gauge73

    segmentation model was used, which divided the population of

    United States into five segments:

    a. TRUE BLUE GREENS - Willing to gather information and contribute money

    to environmental groups, make a conscious effort to adopt green lifestyle.

    b. GREENBACKS- Willing to pay extra for environmentally preferable

    products.

    c. SPROUTS- Willing to engage in environmental activities from time to time

    but only when it takes little effort.

    d. GROUSERS- Do not believe that individuals play any significant part in

    protecting the environment.

    e. BASIC BROWNS- Simply not convinced that environmental problems are all

    that serious.

    The Green Gauge segmentation sought to segment US consumers based on the

    following:

    Environmental attitudes (e.g., concern for global warming)

    Environmental behaviors (e.g., recycling)

    Environmental knowledge (e.g., reported knowledge levels)

    Barriers to a green lifestyle (e.g., time, money, information)

    Taking into consideration the above mentioned criteria, the present study also

    divided Punes population into following 5 categories with the help of

    percentage analysis

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    TRUE BLUE GREENS -20 (4%) - Willing to gather information and

    contribute money to environmental groups, make a conscious effort to adopt

    green lifestyle.

    Characteristics:

    Environmental Attitudes: High

    Environmental Behaviors: High

    Barriers to Green Living: Low

    Environmental Knowledge: High

    GREENBACKS- 36 (7.2%) Willing to pay extra for environmentally

    preferable products

    Characteristics:

    Environmental Attitudes: High

    Environmental Behaviors: Moderate

    Barriers to Green Living: Moderately Low

    Environmental Knowledge: Moderate

    SPROUTS- 163 (32.6%) Willing to engage in environmental activities from

    time to time but only when it takes little effort.

    Characteristics:

    Environmental Attitudes: Moderately Low

    Environmental Behaviors: Moderate

    Barriers to Green Living: Moderate

    Environmental Knowledge: Moderately Low

    GROUSERS- 4 (0.8%) Do not believe that individuals play any significant

    part in protecting the environment.

    Characteristics:

    Environmental Attitudes: Low

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    Environmental Behaviors: Moderately Low

    Barriers to Green Living: High

    Environmental Knowledge: Low

    BASIC BROWNS- 277 (55.4%) These are people who are simply not

    convinced that environmental problems are all that serious. The percentage

    analysis shows that major population of Pune lies in basic brown group which

    have low environmental attitude and behavior but portray high barriers in

    adaptation of green lifestyle.

    Characteristics:

    Environmental Attitudes: Low

    Environmental Behaviors: Low

    Barriers to Green Living: High

    Environmental Knowledge: Low

    The 4th

    hypothesis which states that Consumers of Pune city are well aware

    of environmental problems is hereby proved incorrect as the majority (277 or

    55.4%) of the sample population did not possess proper knowledge about

    environmental degradation and the ways to uplift the state. Or in other words

    the 4th

    hypothesis which states that Pune people were well aware of the

    environmental degradation does not hold good here as more than half sample

    population did not have proper knowledge about the environment.

    In order to find out the kind of differences within the criteria which

    differentiated the most consistent groups from the groups of inconsistent

    principles of their own ideology of saving the ecology, the total sample

    population was further sub divided into 3 groups and presented below.

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    5. FURTHER SUB DIVISION OF THE RESPONDENTS INTO 3

    SEGMENTS AS PER ROPERS73

    CRITERIA

    Further, Roper sub divided US consumers into 3 major categories based on

    their interest area of saving the ecology. These groups were:

    1. Health Fanatics

    2. Animal Lovers

    3. Planet Passionate

    1. Health Fanatics:

    Health fanatics can be defined as those consumers who:

    Are proactive and responsible for their own health and the health of their

    family,

    See organic as a method of control over what their family eats,

    Accept that they may have to pay more for specific organic foods and are

    willing to do so because of the high value they equate with certain item,

    Have an increased reliance on food as preventative medicine and

    Have faith that organic food is beneficial to health over the long-term.

    The study found that majority of respondents (41%) were health fanatics i.e.,

    interested in their own health.

    2. Animal Lovers:

    Those people who have concern for animal welfare, they feel that animals have

    sentiments and that consideration should be given to their well-being,

    especially when they are used by humans. These concerns can include how

    animals are killed for food, how they are used for scientific research, how they

    are kept as pets, and how human activities affect the survival of endangered

    species. The study found that only 27.8% people were animal lovers.

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    3. Planet Passionate:

    Those people who have concern for the planetary welfare, they feel that there

    is only one planet to live in and it is the moral responsibility of each individual

    to take care of the mother earth. They are concerned about how human

    activities affect the health of the planet. They work in the way of conserving

    the scarce natural resources. Form the study conducted, the percentage analysis

    revealed that 30.4% people showed their inclination towards saving the planet.

    The study found that attitudinal orientations do not influence sustainable

    consumer behavior. Environmental awareness are significant in the study,

    however, it is not a reliable predictor for more eco friendly consumer behavior.

    Non environmental orientations can either deter a person from practicing more

    sustainable consumer behavior but some of them can also result in more

    sustainable consumer behavior. The latter is the case when a behavior is

    practiced by a consumer in order to satisfy non-environmental orientations

    such as for example personal health or quality of products. Such behavior can

    be called eco friendly as it although is not done with the intention of protecting

    environment but indirectly lead to a decrease in negative impacts on the

    environment. The study therefore suggests to address motive alliances, i.e.

    addressing both environmental orientations as well as others with a change of

    behavior. Such orientations addressed are for example fun seeking, career

    orientation, interest in modern technology, health or traditional values.

    Apart from the sustainable consumer behavior independency on attitudinal

    factor, the study also found demographic variables to be significant influences.

    The most important demographic variables were found to be a low income,

    gender, as well as young generation.